My loss, His gain
by Angel Shinigami
Summary: Reflections on a series of first that lead to both new beginnings and sad ends. Warnings! Slash! Don't like it, don't read. Peter/Neal, Peter/Elizabeth


Title: My loss, His gain

Author: Angelshinigami

Pairings: Peter/Neal, Peter/Elizabeth

Disclaimer: I Do not own the White Collar Characters. I simply use them for my own demented purposes.

Warnings: Mentioned almost Non-con

AN: This story was written for a prompt on Collarkink on LiveJournal. Please go check it out if you're into White Collar.

Chapter 1

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The first time she'd been introduced to Neal, Elizabeth had been shocked. She couldn't believe the dark haired Adonis sitting in her living room was the same Neal Caffery her Peter had obsessed over for four years straight.

The first time she saw the way a simple phone call could bring energy back to her husband's smile, she smiled as well. She was pleased to see the man she loved come back to life in a way she hadn't seen in years. She didn't even mind she wasn't the one who had restored his spark.

The first time she saw her light haired brunette and his dark haired god kissing, Elizabeth had accepted it. She'd seen the special looks, heard the private laughter, been witness to the not so casual touches. That first kiss was inevitable, unstoppable and all in all, beautiful.

The first time Neal appeared in their bed, Elizabeth had been excited. She'd been trying to convince her rather staunch, by the book husband to experiment and be more than vanilla in the bedroom since they'd meet. If it took another person, male or not, for her traditional husband to play 'tie me up, tie me down', she was all for it.

The first time she'd caught them in bed without her, Elizabeth had been angry. She hadn't expected their activities to always include her, but Peter was her husband and she was being nice enough to let him have his play things. She'd been so upset that they hadn't included her that she completely over looked the tender embrace and worshipful whispers that had sent her exploring to begin with.

The first time Peter had forgotten their anniversary, but remembered Neal's birthday not two days later, complete with candle light dinner and a raspberry swirled cheesecake he'd made himself, Elizabeth had been livid. He was her husband her first. Hers, and she deserved to be remembered, treasured, and praised for all she put up with.

It was that night that she let her displeasure be heard. She lay down the law of her house and gave her Peter a choice.

The first night he didn't come home Elizabeth hadn't worried. Her Peter was always late and usually forgot to call when he was working a big case.

The second night she started to get an uneasy feeling in the pit of her stomach. Peter still hadn't called, but the clothes he'd been wearing when last she'd seen him were folded neatly on his side of the bed and his gym bag was gone. That in it's self wouldn't have been worrisome, but she knew for a fact her Peter didn't go to the gym.

The third night he didn't return to her, Elizabeth cried. Papers had been served to her work and she'd returned to an empty home and a half empty closet. She could hardly believe Peter had taken the dog with him, it was truly a low blow. Never mind that she'd bought the dog for him as a 'congratulations' gift after he'd finally busted Caffery. The more she thought about it, after half a bottle of wine and hot bath, the more ironic Peter and Neal taking the dog became.

The last time she visited the castle her husband was now living in with his felon, Elizabeth had been jealous, as she had been every other time she'd been there to argue over this or that in hopes to drag out the divorce proceedings until her Peter came to him senses and came back to her.

How could they live in such elegance when she was struggling to keep up her house and car payments?

With this visit, she'd hoped to apologies, go back to the way things were, the way things had been, the way things should be, but the moment she stepped onto the roof, a roof she'd been on only once before, her hopes of reconciliation began to dim as the small cracks on her heart became deep fissures.

Her Peter was reading the sports section of the news paper and sipping coffee from Wedgwood china, a sight to see for sure. His large, work rough hands cradling the small cup so delicately, it stirred a mixture of laughter and pain within her. The dark haired beauty had his feet in his prizes lap and was reading the art section while talking about seeing a midnight showing of some Carry Grant movie they just had to see.

She listened and waited for the immediate refusal. Her Peter hated to go out to the movies. He preferred to stay home and watch them curled on the couch when they came out of DVD, just like she did. But to her surprise, her Peter lowered the corner of his paper and rose an eyebrow.

"We have work the next morning, Neal. Midnight showings are off the 'to do' list. Find something else." She heard him say smoothly.

"It's not really a midnight showing, it starts at ten thirty and runs until midnight."

Elizabeth saw the paper lower again and heard the laughter in Peter's answer.

"Then why did they list it as a Midnight showing?"

"I don't know," Neal replied, wiggling his toes up to a certain area of a very receptive lap. "But I want to go…"

"And I want to take you." Peter replied, hiding a smile behind his paper as he shifted in his seat so Neal's talented toes could get better continue their meticulous torture of his person . "But we work the next morning."

Elizabeth smiled brightly. She knew he wouldn't say yes. She was about announce her presence to the two oblivious men when the conversation continued.

"Then what about the Opera on Friday? There is a production of 'Carmen' in town. One night only."

Ah! The small woman's smile grew even more, she couldn't wait to see the look of disappointment cross Neal's perfect features. Her Peter hated operas. He couldn't stand the shrill sopranos or the fact that they were hardly ever sung in English. He hated them as much as she did.

"Come on Peter," Neal prodded, sliding the flat of his foot up the firmness his teasing had created. "It'll be just like that time in Italy…"

Peter rose an eyebrow at the convict. "Just like?" He asked, reaching out to capture the lazy foot on his lap, holding it up to examine the gray tracking device securely fastened around the slim appendage.

"Well, I could escape my electronic collar and make you come find me again. But wouldn't it be fun to actually sit side by side at a show without being handcuffed to one another?"

Elizabeth's heart shattered when she saw the fond smile her husband sent the dark haired home wrecker as he traced the skin around the heavy monitor and nodded, actually agreeing to the suggestion. Both men shared another smile before they both went back to their respective papers, neither having noticed or cared that they'd had an audience to their intimate moment.

Never saying a word, Elizabeth turned and left the roof top. She left the special looks, the private laughter, the casual and not so casual touches, she left it all. Her Peter was no longer Her Peter. It made her wonder if he had ever really been hers.

The End.


End file.
